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79th FS returns home

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  • By Senior Airman John Gordinier
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

The 79th Fighter Squadron returned home Saturday from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., where the squadron helped improve the F-15C division’s warfighting capabilities through simulated air combat. 

“The U.S. Air Force has the best air-to-air fighters in the world, and the (weapons instructor course) training we provided at Nellis is one of the many reasons we maintain air dominance,” said Lt. Col. Scott Manning, 79th FS commander. 

“About 160 pilots, maintainers, fuels and medical personnel from Shaw participated,” said Maj. Kent Harbaugh, 79th FS assistant operations officer. “We were there to provide training and support for two weeks. The course itself lasts around six months.” 

Shaw pilots acted as “red air,” or adversaries, for the F-15C division, the major said.  “Then, the F-15C’s would apply their blue-air tactics to the problems we gave them.” 

There are two different types of air-to-air combat training aids at Nellis. 

The first is “where the F-15C’s exercise their defensive counter air,” said Maj. Harbaugh. “The F-15C division would protect a plane on the ground or in the air and the Shaw pilots would try to attack that plane. 

“The second type of training is where the F-15C division would try to escort a bomber, for instance, into red-air territory and Shaw pilots would try and protect that airspace from the bomber,” he said. 

“The exercise and training overall, was a complete success,” said 1st Lt. Jeromy Guinther, 79th FS scheduler. 

“The division commanders said team Shaw was one of the best supporting units they had ever seen come through,” said Maj. Harbaugh.